Weather News

$100m needed to flood-proof Lockyer Valley: mayor

Lockyer Valley Mayor Steve Jones says it could cost up to $100 million to protect all communities in the south-east Queensland region from flooding.

Creek diversions and detention basins could be built to prevent towns in the region, west of Brisbane, from flooding again.

Floods have claimed more than 20 lives and destroyed hundreds of homes and farms across the Lockyer Valley in the last two years.

The local council has developed a plan it says could prevent towns from inundation in a one-in-100-year event.

Implementing the entire plan could cost $100 million, but Councillor Jones says the council is seeking a share of the state and Commonwealth's $80 million flood betterment fund to kickstart the project.

He says the council's plan includes proposals to build detention basins to protect the town of Laidley, which was hit hard in the Australia Day floods.

"We'll be looking at redirecting water into banks looking at taking out further drainage structures and cleaning out those that are there," he said.

"A whole range of issues which some or a combination of the options may improve the circumstances significantly.

"At the end of the day, the more of this we can do, the safer and better places will be in the long term."

The town in Queensland's southern inland suffered four major floods in three years.

Construction of the levee is expected to start next week

Councillor Stewart says the council is still deciding how best to fix the missing link.

"There's still a missing piece in the middle of about 0.9 of a kilometre that's currently unfunded and we haven't made a decision on what's going to happen there because it's extremely difficult," she said.

"It looks as though we may have to put flood fencing or something like that because the height of it across the front of the river."